Kiwifruit growing wild in New Zealand as a result of birds feeding on reject fruit or it being used as animal feed is now a long-term problem in the country, according to NZ press reports.

The New Zealand Herald reports a call from Bay of Plenty pest plant coordinator, John Mather, on growers disposing of fruit or farmers feeding it to livestock to take care to keep birds from feeding on it.

Feral vines have spread dramatically over the last five years and are difficult and expensive to control. They pose a danger to native bush and exotic forest, and can even strangle and break trees.

Because of this, wild kiwifruit is included in Environment Bay of Plenty's regional pest strategy as a total control plant. The feral vines have spread further afield and the kiwifruit industry is joint-funding a control programme.

Mather asked farmers who feed reject fruit to stock to cover the piles with lengths of windbreak, a material that breathes and will not hasten fruit ripening.

It was best to feed out from the stockpile every day or two so large quantities were not left lying around.

Kiwifruit orchardists could also help by removing reject fruit from vines and mulching it as soon as possible, before it ripens and birds get to it. Once fruit is dropped between rows and mulched by a mower it quickly breaks down into compost material.

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